Service Quality

Abstract

This paper discusses controversial methodological issues in service quality research, particularly in the field of tourism and hospitality. These are illustrated by a review of recent academic discourses and by the lessons of an exploratory study of visitors' quality perceptions of tourism service providers on two European peripheral destinations. Based on the practical, conceptual and methodological lessons of this project, it is argued that service quality research has drifted into a risky territory, by constructing its own reality, rather than describing it. In the light of the discussion, it is suggested to fulfil the long claimed (but never completed) neo-service paradigm shift and to move from provider- to customer-orientation in service research.     

Service Skills and Service Quality

ABSTRACT

Though various types of service skills and knowledge have been suggested for inclusion in service training programs that are designed to improve the competence of frontline service providers, there has been no empirical work to investigate the structural relationships among various types of service skill. In this study, a total of twelve types of service skill are identified. A measurement model for service skills is developed accordingly and tested with the use of hotel service. The results of confirmatory factor analysis reveal acceptable model fit, suggesting that these twelve types of service skill can be classified into two categories: technical versus functional. Performance on technical skills is found to have greater impact on service quality.     

Delivering Quality Service

ABSTRACT

Quality in tourism-related services, like in services in general, are basically about balancing customer perceptions and expectations. Successful service providers are able to meet and, whenever possible, exceed consumers' needs and wants. This way, it is possible to provide memorable experiences to visitors. In delivering services, due to certain specific characteristics of services (e.g., intangibility, simultaneity, variability and perishability), the human element, in particular the ‘face-to-face’ interaction with the customer, plays a fundamental role. The study stresses the contribution of interpersonal variables for the success of service organisations. It discusses how commitment to customer service, and supportive supervisors and co-workers, influence the relationship managers' ability to satisfy customers. The main findings were as follows: (i) commitment to customer service and co-workers' support have direct and positive effects on the ability to satisfy customers; (ii) commitment to customer service is the most important determinant of the ability to satisfy customers, and works as a mediator for the other independent variables; (iii) co-workers' support, having both direct and mediated effects, is a more important predictor than supervisors' support. The available data indicates that there is a need for specific training for supervisors, in order to increase their awareness of the impact of their performance on the service delivered by contact employees. Moreover, it is important that service organisations are capable of providing employees with a holistic view of the service delivery chain. This includes not only relationship managers, but also those who are not in direct contact with external customers. Apart from these training aspects, the results of this study should also be considered in relation to other management issues, namely in human resources management. Organisations should prevent the risk of losing those employees that show more commitment to customer service and more ability to satisfy customers. Employee retention exerts a positive impact on repurchase, which, in turn, influences profitability. In light of these findings, some managerial implications are suggested.     

Measuring Personal Service Quality

Abstract

This study examined the personal service quality of international tourism hotels in China by measuring international hotel customer's satisfaction level and their perceived importance evaluation of personal service attributes. Six international hotels in Beijing and three departments (reception, food and beverage, and housekeeping) in each hotel were selected in this study. Responses from 472 customers were used for the data analysis of this study. It was found that customers identified friendliness and willingness to provide service in all three departments as service attributes with which they were very satisfied. Foreign language ability was identified as the least satisfactory in the reception and food and beverage departments. Customers also regarded friendliness and willingness to provide service as very important.     

Burnout and Service Employees' Willingness to Deliver Quality Service

ABSTRACT

Employees are vital for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty in service organizations because their proactive involvement is an essential part of delivering the services offered. With the recent rapid growth of tourism in the Macau SAR, service employee workloads are clearly increasing, and consequently one would expect that the incidence of job burnout is rising. This study uses the well-known Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to investigate the relationship between service employees' burnout and their willingness to deliver quality services. Self-administered questionnaires from 110 operational staff in three hotels in Macau have been analyzed. The results indicate that job burnout reduces staff's willingness to deliver quality services and that this effect is moderated by individual staff's level of affective organizational commitment, and their perceptions of the extent of organizational and supervisor support provided by the organization. Based on these results, practical managerial strategies to improve service performance are identified.     

Service Quality in Tourism Research

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent development of service quality research. It relates the key issues and approaches to the tourism and hospitality sectors. It identifies the need for further research into the meaning and management of service quality in tourism and hospitality.     

Service Quality Measurement and Triadic Interaction

Abstract

The authors recognise the importance of the service quality encounter and the critical roles played by three direct stakeholders: customers, front-line staff and operational managers, in the assessment of restaurant service quality. The paper therefore argues the merits of adopting a triadic perspective on restaurant service quality assessment and presents the details of a comparative analysis of stakeholder perceptions of service quality performance that was undertaken in three full-service restaurants in Manchester, U.K. The results showed that service providers tended to overrate the quality of service in full-service restaurants, if customer perceptions are used as the standard of comparison. Managers' ratings showed the least convergence with those of customers whilst there was a high degree of convergence between the perceptions of front-line service providers and customers on many of the dimensions. With the exception of the tangible dimension, there were statistically significant differences in service quality performance between the perceptions of stakeholders. Overall, the results have highlighted areas of particular concern and priority which require more in-depth research with qualitative methods; they therefore support the adoption of a triadic perspective in the assessment of restaurant service quality performance.     

Important Service Quality of Tourist Retail Services

This study uses a service quality model consisting of six service quality dimensions to measure the attractiveness of a destination and their impact on customers’ loyalty intention to a tourist destination. We find that the dimensions representing destination attractiveness have a stronger impact on visitor loyalty intention than the dimensions representing retail attributes. Because the current literature has infrequently investigated the concepts of important service quality of tourist retail service that exhibit characteristics of both retail and tourist attractions, this study explores these concepts and attempts to fill this gap.     

Value Segmentation of Tourists' Expectations of Service Quality

In this decade, the predominant research areas in service marketing have been service quality and export of services. With the generic characteristics of intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity and perishability, the important of service quality as a strategic factor has been well documented. The advent of the SERVQUAL inventory enabled both marketing scholars and practitioners to resolve some issues on the measurement of service quality. This study investigated touristsÆ expectations on the quality of organized tour service and the influences of cultural values on quality expectations. The cross-cultural investigation explored the use of cultural valued in segmenting the international tourism market, so as to provide insights into the effective export of services.     

对饭店服务质量问题的再认识

客人对饭店服务的感知是其评价服务质量的标准.由于一线员工与客人直接接触,很长时间以来,人们在谈到服务质量问题时,往往只强调一线员工的操作质量,最多不过将管理者履行监督职能的质量纳入其中,而事实上,员工只是处于饭店服务产品生产链最末端的人.本文在分析饭店服务质量与客人预期之间差距的基础上,提出了提高企业决策质量、管理质量、执行质量和沟通质量,满足客人服务期待的建议与措施.     

An Integrated Approach to Service Quality in Hotels

ABSTRACT

An examination of service quality in hotels goes beyond the measurement approach by incorporating, customer satisfaction, organizational culture and climate. Customer satisfaction is examined and the use of employee perceptions of customer satisfaction is proposed as an index for customer satisfaction. Organizational climate is discussed as being a fundamental element that needs to be understood and used by managers in order to promote service quality. A conceptual model that incorporates all the elements of an expanded service quality model is presented by utilizing organizational culture and climate as its base. It is argued that hotel managers need to address all aspects of the model simultaneously instead of the single element at a time approach.     

An Assessment of Quality Consciousness of Service Employees

Abstract

Frontline service staff plays a vital role in the success of firms in the lodging industry. Quality service often determines the competitive edge of businesses in this industry. In this study, data from the questionnaires filled out by hotel managers and employees have been analyzed to assess their service quality consciousness. Although the results point to the existence of an organizational culture and climate that encourage the fostering of quality consciousness, they are not effective enough in the development of satisfactory quality consciousness in employees. A set of guidelines for quality service management is proposed.     

The Effect of Service Climate on Perceived Service Value and Behavioral Intentions: The Mediating Role of Service Quality

The purpose of the current study is to assess the influence of employees’ perceived service climate on customers’ perceived service value and behavioral intention. Furthermore, the paper investigates the extent to which service quality mediates the relationship among employees’ perceived service climate, customers’ perceived service value, and behavioral intention. Data were collected from convenience samples of 400 customers and 375 hotel employees. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that: (1) employees’ perceived service climate has a positive and significant influence on service quality, customers’ perceived service value, and behavioral intention and (2) service quality has a positive and significant influence on customers’ perceived service value and behavioral intention. Additionally, this study revealed that the indirect effect of employees’ perceived service climate on customers’ perceived service value and behavioral intention through service quality is more than the direct effect of employees’ perceived service climate, customers’ perceived service value, and behavioral intention.     

饭店服务质量测量方法研究综述

提高服务质量是饭店企业区别于竞争对手,获得相对竞争优势的重要手段.要改善服务质量,首先需要有效和实用的测量方法对服务质量进行可靠和准确的测量.本文对服务质量的测量方法进行了综述,分析它们在饭店业中的应用现状及问题,同时阐述了饭店服务质量测量的新趋势.     

饭店服务质量的测量与改进

饭店服务质量是饭店的生命。为了改进饭店的服务质量，基于Parsuraman提出的SERVOUAL方法，本文提出了饭店服务质量的满意度测量法，然后，采用鱼刺图对饭店服务质量问题进行分析并提出改进方案，新悦饭店的示例表明，本文所提出的方法是有效的。     

旅游公共服务质量量表的设计与检验

随着外出旅游这一行为在国内的普及,游客的旅游偏好、出游方式以及对旅游产品的需求等发生了深刻的变化,游客对旅游公共服务质量的要求也日趋强烈.然而很多地区的旅游公共服务还存在评估机制不健全、监管不到位、体系不完善以及质量不高等情况,学术界对这一主题的相关研究也相对匮乏.文章以游客为主要研究对象,采用访谈、内容分析以及问卷调查等多种方法,编制了从游客视角评价的旅游公共服务质量量袁.通过信度分析,探索性、验证性因子分析以及结构方程模型检验,结果表明由6个维度25个测量项目组成的旅游公共服务质量量表具有较高的信度、聚合效度和区分效度,可用于评价旅游公共服务质量.     

关于服务过程质量管理的思考

本文剖析了导致服务过程质量问题的因素,提出了目前在服务过程质量管理中存在着两大难点:一个压力点--对“真实瞬间“的管理;一个盲点--对顾客行为的管理,并就实践中如何加强对这“两点“的管理作了深入的探讨.     

Determinants of Exhibition Service Quality as Perceived by Attendees

Abstract

This study attempted to identify comprehensive determinants (or dimensions) of exhibition service quality as perceived by attendees. Dimensions of exhibition service quality were constructed and identified, which are relevant for attendees to accomplish their objectives in an exhibition. The empirical results produced six dimensions of exhibition service quality: booth management, contents, registration, access, booth layout and function, exhibition and booth attractiveness. Contents turned out to be the most important dimension of exhibition service quality. Attendees were most concerned with number of participating exhibitors; quality of products or service exhibited; and conferences, seminars and events organized at the exhibition. We also confirmed the positive impacts of service quality on overall satisfaction and behavioral intention.     

Visual Data Mining: Analysis of Airline Service Quality Attributes

The objectives of the study are to identify the key airline quality attributes from online review posts and to examine the effect of identified airline quality attributes on eWOM communication. This study employed data-mining techniques and logistic regression on 901 passenger reviews to evaluate the service quality of passenger airlines. The major contribution was identifying the most salient topics of travelers complimenting and complaining reviews. Passengers’ comments support that service, staff, cabin seat comfort, and entertainment are among the most discussed themes in positive and negative reviews. Additionally, value, seat comfort, staff/service, and catering were found to be significant predictors of airline eWOM.     

Job Satisfaction,Organizational Commitment,and Internal Service Quality

Abstract

The purpose of this study, was to create a case study in employee attitudes on job satisfaction, in a major Las Vegas, Nevada hotel/casino. To accomplish this, the authors specifically investigated the discrete level of their job satisfaction, internal service quality, and organizational commitment. They also explored the overall impact of job satisfaction and internal service quality on employee organizational commitment. Currently there is no reported research on the simultaneous examination of these three variables. The results of this study have practical applications given the size and the nature of the casino business, in which a large number of employees may be assembled in a single location, and where employees may move easily from one property to another.